Kakilambe Unmasked

By Jim Donovan

September 30, 2009 7:50 am

Kakilambe Unmasked

By Jim DonovanPublished in the April 2006 issue of DRUM!

Kakilambe is a masked dance from the Baga people, who live in the lower Guinea region of West Africa. The brief story behind this rhythm is that the Kakilambe serves as an oracle that provides information about the well-being of the village and forest to its inhabitants.
These patterns, adapted for drum set, sound interesting when you mix and match the rhythms in Exs. 1–3. Starting very slowly, play the grooves with a metronome. Notice how different the patterns feel at various tempos.

Kakilambe Unmasked Exercises

DRUM! Notation Guide

Jim Donovan is a current and founding member of the multiplatinum band Rusted Root. He has released three solo CDs as well as four instructional drumming CDs. http://www.jimdonovanmusic.com